N.B. Panthers claim Maritime Hockey North title

LANTZ: The Western Valley Panthers from N.B. have won the Maritime Hockey North championship.

The squad, from the Woodstock, N.B. region, defeated N.S. champion South Shore Storm 6-2 in the final at the Keith Miller Arena in the East Hants Sportsplex in Lantz to claim the title.

Despite the score, the game was much closer then that with both teams fairly evenly matched.

The Storm advanced to the final after a semi-final win 8-6 over the East Hants Ryson Construction Penguins on Saturday April 30.

Meanwhile, the Panthers finished atop the standings after the round-robin portion and earned the day off Saturday and bye into the final.

PEI champion Pownal Ice Dogs were the unlucky team as they finished fourth and missed moving on ahead of East Hants.

In the semi-final, Zack Moore, team captain in his final year of junior eligible hockey, scored twice and assisted on two more in the loss. Mark Randell added a goal and two assists.

Zach Darcy led the Storm attack with a hat trick.